General Responses & Key Conclusions
First and foremost, I’d like to thank Pilot for bringing up specific points about my original post. Although Pilot has some grievances with my original post, he has refrained from any personal attacks and instead highlighted specific examples of language that he disliked. I appreciate any conversation or debate that’s based on the facts and not personal insults, and I think Pilot’s comments have been not only worthy of respect, but also worth considering. That is to say, the comments in his last post about the original posting for this thread are not poorly thought-out or emotional; they’re perfectly rational and reasonable comments that opponents of James Shyun should respect and consider rationally.
I highlight this point because I think this goes to the heart of one of Shifu Chang’s overarching points: Debate and spreading knowledge is good for 8 Step, but personal attacks and creating separate “camps” within 8 Step with political agendas can only hurt all such “camps” and ultimately the style as a whole.
Having said that, I hope Pilot will allow me to address the points he has brought up about the original post, that he will take my rebuttals for the equally logical/rational points that I intend them to be, and that he will consider them with an open mind, as I have considered his points with an open mind. I have no reason to believe that he won’t, given his conduct so far on this thread.
Regarding the comment about James Shyun’s visiting and supporting GM Wei’s tomb, I understand how this can be taken as a personal jab. However, I hope people will understand that the key point to the entire sentence/paragraph that clause was found in is this: Yes, 8 Step students outside James Shyun’s schools have legitimate grounds for complaint, but James Shyun has also helped 8 Step as a style in several ways that, for a long time, were significant enough to cause GM Wei’s students not to complain or cause trouble. The sentence went on to enumerate 2 of these ways James Shyun has benefitted 8 Step, specifically (1) broadening 8 Step’s popularity in the U.S. and (2) respecting GM Wei. I should say that, having known Shifu Chang for years, he takes both of these benefits very seriously. He’s not just saying this to be nice to James Shyun; he is quite serious when it comes to the future survival and spreading of 8 Step and respect for GM Wei. As you can see, the primary point of the sentence/paragraph was not to personally attack James Shyun, but to tell traditional non-Shyun 8 Step people that, although they may have legitimate grievances with James Shyun, he has also done things to significantly benefit 8 Step as a style and deserves respect.
I hope it’s also understood that, in this post, Shifu Chang is riding a razor-thin line between pro- and anti-Shyun “camps” in an effort to replace politics with honest debate and information sharing. He has tried to show the opponents of James Shyun that James Shyun should be respected and credited for the benefits he has brought to 8 Step. At the same time, he has also tried to add facts from his own experience and knowledge that might not be known to students of James Shyun, hoping that James Shyun’s students will look to the traditional 8 Step community with an open mind as well. In the end, no one can read this post and be completely happy, but that’s not the point of the post. The overarching point of the post is that “us vs. them” politics in the 8 Step community only hurts 8 Step, and all sides deserve respect and open-minded communication.
Regarding 8-step.com, this web site was established so that Shifu Chang could start providing more information about traditional 8 Step and GM Wei. We’re hoping to have the web site up and running by early next year at the latest, hopefully sooner. Again, I personally take any blame for the fact that the site has been on hold for so long. Ultimately, the goal is for the site to be friendly to all 8 Step practitioners from all lineages and focus strictly on providing information to help spread knowledge of the style. It won’t be a site promoting any particular school or lineage.
WanderingMonk - Thanks for pointing out the oversight of Mr. Wang Jie. I think Shifu Chang’s intention was to list 8 Step teachers who have dedicated their lives exclusively to 8 Step, although there are many others who were excellent students of GM Wei who have also studied other styles in addition to 8 Step. As you mentioned, Mr. Wan Jie continues to teach in Taiwan and is a well respected student of GM Wei’s.
If anyone else knows of any former students of GM Wei still active in teaching 8 Step, perhaps they could post more information to continue raising awareness of the greater 8 Step community.
